2011 Year in Review

Year in review

Events in Hampton in 2011 were dominated by Fort Monroe, the historic citadel that the Army vacated after 188 years.

The Fort Monroe Authority sought new uses for the site but a plan by HRI Properties to adaptively reuse a historic structure to build 192 apartments, many of them affordable homes, attracted opposition from the city and was eventually dropped.

At the same time, local decision makers wooed the National Park Service. When President Barack Obama visited Hampton in October — stopping off at Wood's Orchards Farm Market to buy pumpkins to display at the White House — he was lobbied by local politicians including Mayor Molly Joseph Ward, to make Fort Monroe a National Monument.

On Nov. 1, the president used the Antiquities Act for the first time in his presidency to create a national monument on part of the Fort Monroe site. The Army deactivated the post just weeks earlier on Sept. 15.

Fort Monroe also made headlines when the Fort Monroe Authority asked 33 military families to leave the Wherry housing after it sustained storm damage during Hurricane Irene. All 117 units were damaged by the storm, and the authority said it would not renew any leases.

City Hall politics was dominated by plans for a downtown redevelopment centered around a new courthouse. In June, the City Council supported by a 5-2 vote a bond issue of up to $38 million to fund a new Circuit Court, parking garage and some school projects.

But the issue became entwined with the acquisition of the Harbor Square. The city moved to buy the downtown apartment complex at the same time as an offer was submitted to its owners from the private sector to buy and rehabilitate the homes.

In a 4-2 vote with Ward not participating due to a family financial interest in the property, the city agreed a $14.5 million purchase in August. Council members Angela Leary and Donnie Tuck cast the dissenting votes. City inspections discovered a host of problems at Harbor Square including asbestos, bugs, mold and a repair bill of up to $5 million.

With the intention to demolish the complex in 2012, the city bought Harbor Square from Olde Towne Associates on Dec. 1 for $13.4 million, assuming a loan from the Virginia Housing and Development Authority. The land is likely to be the site for the new Circuit Court, with the parking garage component dropped from the plan.

Leary unexpectedly resigned from the City Council in October due to ill heath. Ill health also forced the resignation of 91st District State Del. Tom Gear, R-Hampton. Poquoson Mayor Gordon Helsel won a special election to replace Gear.

2011 also saw a continuation of a long-running dispute among neighbors on Grandview's White Marsh beach. Landowner Sebastian Plucinski erected a barrier that was later removed.

And the downtown Virginia Air & Space Center hit financial problems.

Newport News

In Newport News, the new Apprentice School project grabbed headlines, with city leaders touting the development as a boost in its efforts to revamp downtown.

The project — a partnership among the city, developer Armada Hoffler and the shipyard — would cover a four-block area between 31st and 34th streets and Washington and West avenues.

The $72 million project would showcase a new school, retail, apartments and a parking garage. City taxpayers are paying for $17 million, Armada Hoffler $30 million and the state is pitching in $25 million. Critics blasted the city for spending $4.5 million to assemble the land in downtown that was assessed at $1.2 million, especially when Newport News already owned vacant land, the "Superblock," a few blocks away.

But city and development officials argued that the Superblock land was not suitable for the development, and that prices for land tend to escalate when there's development.

The new Apprentice School is slated to be completed in 2013.

In January the city announced that ex-NFL quarterback Aaron Brooks signed a joint venture agreement with Armada Hoffler. The venture was intended to jump start Brooks' lower Jefferson Avenue development that would include a grocery store, retail shops and condos.

As of December, there was still no word on when the project would get underway.

In June, Walmart officials said construction would begin on the new big box store at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Mercury Boulevard in 2012.

In city politics, key portions of Mayor McKinley Price's anti-gang initiative were met with resistance by council members. At issue is whether to spend $300,000 in city taxpayer dollars to help pay for a new $1 million multipurpose sports field next to the former South Morrison Elementary School and whether to spend $75,000 per year on an anti-gang coordinator. Some council members objected, saying neither idea would be effective in combating gangs. A vote is expected in 2012.

And in December Councilwoman Sharon Scott filed a personal protective order against Councilman Joe Whitaker saying he threatened her after a council work session.